Cowboys, Romo ‘dodge a bullet’
Hit delivers back-injury scare
After the game, all everyone could do was laugh.
Owner Jerry Jones joked that he was going to check into a Seattle hospital for heart issues, delaying his trip back to Dallas.
Of course, this was after Jones spent the first quarter of the Dallas Cowboys’ 27-17 preseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks seeing the season possibly going up in smoke.
The sight of quarterback Tony Romo crunched on the ground and grabbing his back on the third play of the game after the perfect storm of a hit from Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril was almost too much for Jones to take.
The career of the 36-year-old quarterback with known back issues and the team’s 2016 season flashed before Jones’ eyes.
But then Romo got up and walked off the field. The pain had dissipated and the Cowboys’ season was back on track. And while he didn’t return because coach Jason Garrett wanted to play it safe, Romo admitted he and the Cowboys dodged a bullet.
“At the moment when you go down, you crunch so your back gets squished, I guess you could say,” Romo explained. “You almost feel a sensation as if someone gave you a stinger in your shoulder. It just feels hot for a second. That dissipates after a minute and you’re OK, all of those things you felt before with back injuries, those are all fine. Then your strength comes back and you’re like OK. It just takes a little bit.”
Romo missed 12 games last year after twice fracturing his left collarbone, and he hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2012. He had back surgeries after the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Romo said the hit, which came as he attempted to slide and Arvil grabbed him from behind, and his subsequent recovery is an example of how far he’s come and the strength in his back.
“That was a perfect timed situation,” Romo said. “I was going into a slide. It’s a perfect storm as far as the slide and going down. The fact we dodged a bullet is a good thing . ... In a weird way, I feel good about the fact that was probably as tough of a hit I’ve taken on the back as I’ve had in the last five years. From that regard, I feel very lucky that it can hold up and I can keep going.”
The Cowboys didn’t do an X-ray on Romo’s back.
“I think initially he was in a little bit of shock and didn’t feel real good,” Garrett said. “Once a little time went by, I think he was feeling better and better and better. We don’t think there’s anything serious. He was campaigning to get back into the game. We just thought it was in best interests of him and our team that we keep him out.”
Jones said he is just glad Romo didn’t get hurt and he was able to joke about the situation after the game.
But he acknowledges that the injury will make the Cowboys think long and hard about carrying three quarterbacks on the roster. Rookie sensation Dak Prescott is a lock behind Romo as the backup quarterback, Jones said. But now third quarterback Jameil Showers has a chance to stick.
Overall, the Panthers scored just three points in 10 Newton-led drives.
The sixth-year quarterback was high on some passes and didn’t get much help from his receivers, who had problems getting separation and dropped four passes, including one by Brenton Bersin on a fourth-and-two at midfield.
Garoppolo returned in the second quarter but couldn’t get anything going.
Patriots rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett connected on a 12-yard TD pass to DeAndre Carter to give New England a 16-3 lead late in the third quarter. That was set up by a 60-yard punt return by rookie Cyrus Jones.
Carolina third-team quarterback Joe Webb threw two late fourthquarter TD passes to sixth-string tight end Marcus Lucas to make the score close.
The highlight of Brady’s night was a perfectly thrown ball that receiver Chris Hogan caught in stride over Panthers cornerback Bené Benwikere for a 33-yard touchdown. Brady appeared to change the play at the line of scrimmage after seeing Hogan in single coverage and lofting the pass on a fade route.
The Patriots attempted a 2-point conversion, but Brady’s pass intended for Aaron Dobson was too high.
Brady’s final two plays, however, were a pass that Panthers safety Kurt Coleman should have intercepted but dropped, and a sack by Carolina defensive end Kony Ealy.
The only other time Brady came off the bench when healthy since 2001 was in Week 4 of the 2014 preseason, when he held for an extra-point kick.
The NFL’s four-game suspension stems from allegations that Brady participated in an “intentional scheme” to deflate game footballs before the 2015 AFC Championship Game.
Brady did not play in the team’s first preseason game and missed the second after he cut his thumb before the game when he mishandled scissors in the locker room. Friday’s game likely was the last Brady will play in the preseason, as the majority of starters typically rest in the fourth and final exhibition.
Once the regular season begins, Brady will be forbidden from any team activities until the end of New England’s Week 4 game against the Buffalo Bills. Brady will be eligible to return Week 5 at the Cleveland Browns.